Peters



(No Model.) 5 sheets-sheet "1.

J, ADAMS.

GIRQULAR KNITTING- MACHINE. No. 358,244. Patented Nov. 23, 1886.

fim w QJW WITNESSES: INVENTOR 4 4/ 1 4;, an a,

(No Model.) 5 'Shets-Sheet 2.

J. ADAMS.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

Patented Nov. 23

INVENTOR @wfl WITNESSES:

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5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

J. ADAMS.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

Patented Nov. 23, 1886.

v/V dam INVENITOR WITNESSES (No Model.) V V 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

J. ADAMS.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE. 1%. 353,244. Patented Nov.'23, 1886.

WITNESSES JINVENTOR 2 .2 I %wm7m/w r 5 Sh eets -S h e'et 5;

(No Model.)

' J. ADAMS.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

Patented Nov. 23

INVENTOYR WITNESSES:

&73m LL 7341 0 Nv ETERs v Plmwum n her UNITED STATES PATENT Orricn.

JOSEPH ADAMS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PA., ASSIGNOR TO JOHN JbGLAZIER, WILLIAMH. GLAZIER, AND GEORGE R. REPPLIER, ALL OF SAME PLACE.

CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINE.

FJPECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 358,244, datedNovember 23, 1886.

Application filed June 11, 1886. Serial No. 204,829. (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J osnrrr Anlurs, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and,county of Philadelphia, and State of Penn- 5sylvania, have invented a newand useful Improvemcnt in Circular-KnittingMachines, of

which the following is a specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming part thereof.

My invention relates to that class of knitting-machines in whichlatch-needles are employed. Its object is to provide a machine of theclass mentioned upon which knitted fabrics having a plain knitted faceon one side and a plush face on the other can be produced; and itconsists as hereinafter specifically described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a plan view of a circular-frameknittingmachine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail plan viewofpart of the machineto which my devices are applied. Fig. 8 is a detailplan View of the presser-wheel, showing the method of its operation uponthe needles. Fig. 4 is an elevation, partly in section, upon the line yof Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale. Fig. 5 is a detail elevation inperspective of the needle ring of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is an elevation of theneedles in the positions occupied by them in that part of the machinewhich is shown in Fig. 2,when the parts of the machine in that figureoccupy the relation to each other therein shown, and when the lugs ofsaid needles are in the camway of the cams shown in Fig. 7, sight being5 taken from the outside toward the center of the machine. Fig. 7 is anelevation of the cams by which the needles in Fig. 6 are operated, andwith which their lugs are in contact when they occupy the positionsshown in said last-named figure, sight being taken from the outsidetoward the center of the machine. Fig. 8 is an elevation of the lug, orof that part of the needle which comes in contact with and is operatedby the cams. Fig. 9 is an elevation 5 of the needles in the positionsshown in Fig. 6,

sight being taken from the center of the machine toward the needles, thethread-guides by which the threads are guided to said needles, theprcsser-wheel, the wire guards for controlling the latches, the threadsemployed to form the fabric, and the successive positions of the needlesin their operation upon the threads to form the fabric. Fig. 10 is adetail plan view showing the positions of the needies at one point ofthe operation, of tying in the backing or plush thread. Fig. 11 is anelevation of the needles and fabric, showing the manner in which thebacking or plush thread is tied in, the upper line 'of loops of saidfabric being upon the needles.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding part-s whereverused.

The circular-frame knitting-machine, to which I have in the drawingsshown my invention as applied, is of a well-known construction; and itconsists, essentially, of a stationary circular bed or frame, A, whichmay be suitably supported in any desired manner, and which is providedwith a circular revoluble needle-cylinder, B, having a shoulder orannular rim, O, upon its outer face, which takes into and rests and isadapted to slide upon a circular bearing or shoulder upon the innerupper edges of the circular bed A, whereby the cylinder B is supported.

Upon the upper outer face' of the cylinder B is shrunk a brassneedle-ring, D, provided with vertical slots E, within which the needleswork, the upper ends of the webs or walls which separate said slotsbeing milled, as at F, to receive and hold the lower ends of the sinkersG.

The lower and upper cam-plates, Hand I, by which the needles areoperated, are secured to and supported by annular rings J and K, ex-

ternal to the needle-cylinder, which in turn are mounted and supportedupon the bed or frame A. These rings form the outer walls,

against which the front surfaces of the needlelugs Qrest and work. Theneedle-cylinderB is at its lower outside surface provided with a rack,L, which gears into and is driven by a pinion, M, supported in a bearingon a bracket attached to the bed or frame A, said pinion being in turndriven by gearing N and 0.

Revolution being given to the needle-cylinder Bin the direction of thearrow in Fig. 2, the needle-lugs Q will be caused to traverse the camwayformed by the stationary lower and upper cams, H and I, with the resultthat a vertical movement of said needles will be occasionedcorresponding to the shape of the lugs are caused to pass. Thread beingguided to the needles through the thread-guide R, and a cam of usualform being employed, and the other threads and. cams and the devicespertaining thereto, as hereinafter described, being omitted, ordinaryknitted fabric may be produced in the operation of the machine in amanner well understood.

- In my invention I have provided devices whereby a backing or plushthread is at desired intervals tied to the back face of the knittedfabric in such manner that it does not appear on its front face.

In order that the devices by which I accomplish this operation, as wellas their mode of operation, may be more readily understood,

I will assume the operation of knitting to com" mence with thefabric-thread a, or at a point in the line of needles at which ordinaryplain knitted fabric is produced. I will then describe the manner inwhich the machine operates to tie a backing or plush thread into theloops of the plain fabric so formed, as well as the further operation ofthe machine in the formation of the front face of the fabric in a mannerby which the appearance of said plush-thread upon said front face isprevented.

In Figs. 2 and 9, R, S, T, and U are stationary threadguides ofwell-known construction, through which the fabric or face thread a, thebacking or plush thread I), the tying-in thread 0, and a second fabricor face thread, (1, are respectively guided to the needles as theneedles are caused to pass said thread-guides in the revolution of theneedle-cylinder.

Revolution of the needle-cylinder being supposed in the direction of thearrows in Figs. 2, 6, and 9, and the cam-plates H and I beingstationary, the operations of the cams upon the needles,and of theneedles upon the threads, are as follows: The face 6 of the cam, Fig. 7,elevates a needle, as shown at 1, Fig. 9, to a point sufliciently highto permit it to catch the thread a ata point on said needle between itslatch and its upper extremity. The facef of the cam now depresses theneedle to the point 2, whereby the fabric-thread a is pulled through aloop previously'plaeed upon said needle. The face 9 of the cam nowcauses the needle to rise through the loop just formed thereon by thefabric thread a to the position 3 4, or sufficiently high to cause theneedle to come into contact with the edge of the presserwheel V as saidneedle in the revolution of the needle cylinder is passed in front ofsaid wheel. This presser-wheel is provided with slots A A A Fig. 3,which permit the needles standing opposite to said slots to takethereand is caused by the thread-guideSto lie back of such needles astake into the slots A A A of the presser-wheel V, and in front of suchneedles as do not take into slots in said wheel,

as shown, respectively, at 9, 10, and 11, and 8 and 12 in Fig. 10. Theneedles are now, by the face of the cam, caused to rise to the position6 to 11, where, by means of the brushwheel IV or by a clearing-wheel,should that device be employed, the backing or plush thread b is causedto lie between the needles, as described, and upon a plane lower thanthe lower end of their open latches. At this point of the operation atying-in thread, 0, is guided to the needles, which are thereupon causedto descend by the face It of the cam, with the re sult that saidtying-in thread is caught by said needles, and is, by such needles asthe backing or plush thread lies in front of, looped around the backingthread. The needles are now caused to further descend by the projectionm of the cam to position 22, with the result that the needles in frontof which the backingthread I) has been laid descend below it and riseupon the other side of said backing-thread, the tying-in thread aremaining in contact with the needles at points above the lower ends oftheir open latches. The partial drawing down of the needles by the face7c of the cam, and the subsequent completion of the descent of saidneedles by the projection m of the cam, permits a slack in the threadbetween the needles from 16 to 22, and prevents the fabric from beingtoo tightly knitted. The needles are now-caused by the facen of the camto ascend to the position 26 to 30. At this pointa second fabric-thread,d, is guided to them through the guide U. The-needles are now, by theface 1) of the cam, caused to descend to the position 33, with theresult that the tying-in thread 0 V and the fabric-thread d are togetherpulled through the loop which has previously been formed by thefabric-thread a. The last-named loop is thereby thrown off, and a newloop, con sisting of two threads, 0 and d, is formed upon said needle,as shown at 34. to 38, Figs. 9 andll A brush-wheel, 7 IV, or aclearing-wheel, may, if desired, be employed at the points shown inFigs. 1 and 9.

It will be understood that the length of the loop t, formed on the backface of the fabric by the plush or backing thread I), will be equal tothe distance between the needles which operate to loop the tying-inthread 0 around the plushthreadas, for example, the distance between 34and 88, Fig. 1land that the length of this loop maybe varied accordingto the number and position of the slots A A A in the pressen wheel V.

The machine shown in Fig.1 is one in which a series of sets of devicessuch as are shown in Figs. 2, 3, 7, and 8 are employed. The number ofsuch sets is limited only by the circumference of the machine to whichthey are applied.

It will be understood that the fabric-thread a and the cams by which theneedles are operated to knit it into plain fabric may be dispensed with,and that a fabric of the character described and provided on one sidewith loops may be made by the threads I), c, and d, and the needles andcams above described as operating in connection with said threads, theresult being that the loops upon the back of the fabric so produced willbe closer together than in the fabric produced by the operationhereinbefore explained.

X and Y are wire latchguards sprung from the stationary bed or frameof'the machine or from an attachment thereto, and arranged to lie inclose contact with the needles upon their outer or latch sides toprevent thelatches from swinging up and closing by reason of the suddenand quick movement of the needles'or the jarring of the machine.

The presser-wheel. V and brush W may be pivotally and adjustablysupported in the usual manner upon the bed or frame of the machine orupon an attachment thereto.

It will be understood that a circular-frame knitting-machine providedwith the devices or with a series of sets of devices such as are abovedescribed, and operated in the manner hereinbeforc set forth, willproduce a fabric having a clean or plain knit face on one side, theother side having loops of anypredetermined length. The color, number,and relative positions of these loops to each other may, according tothe form, number, and location of tho presser-wheels employed, and thecolor and kind of threads used to make said loops, be regulated to meetthe requirements of the fabric to be produced. It will further beunderstood that these loops are prevented from appearing upon the plainsurface of the fabric by reason of the fact that the thread which formsthat face at the points at which the backing or plush threads are tiedthereto consists of two strands, one only of which is employed to tiethe backing or plush thread to the fabric, the second strand beingcarried through the same loops as the first strand without havingpreviously been looped around the backing or plush thread;

It will also be understood that if a fabricthread, or a series offabrie-threads such as a, be employed to form a line of loops to whichthe backing-thread is not to be tied, it should be of substantially thesame thickness as the aggregate thickness of the tying-in thread and thesecond fabricthread, which in the formation of the fabric are togetherdrawn through the loop previously formed by said fabricthread.

The loops of backing-threads formed upon the back face of the fabricmay, after the fabric has been removed from the machine, be broken andtreated in any well-known manner to form plush upon that face.

Having thus described my invention, I claimv 1. In a circular-frameknitting-machine, in combination, first, latch-needles; second,mechanism for throwin g predetermined needles out of line with theremaining needles; third, mechanism for placing a backing or plushthread between the needles so thrown out of line and needles remainingin line and below the lower ends of the open latches of said needles;fourth, mechanism for guiding a tying-in thread to said needles; fifth,mechanism by which the needles are caused to descend below theplushthread and to again ascend, whereby such needles as have beenthrown out of line are caused to rise on the opposite side of theplushthread to that on which they descended; sixth, mechanism forguiding a fabric-thread to the needles above their latches; seventh, andmechanism to cause said needles to descend and pull said fabric-threadand tying-in thread together through a loop pre-,

viously formed upon said needles, as specified.

2. In a circular-frame knitting-machine, in

and below their latches; seventh, mechanism for feeding a tying-inthread to said needles; eighth, mechanism by'which said needles arecaused to descend below said backing-thread, and whereby such needlesashave been thrown out of line with the others are caused to rise uponthe other side of said backingth read and loop said tying-in threadaround said backingthread and to retain said tying-in thread in contactwith the needles above their latches; ninth, mechanism for guiding afabric-th read to the needles above their latches; tenth, mechanism bywhich said needles are caused to descend and carry said tying'in threadand said fabric-threadtogether through the loops previously formed onsaid needles by the firstnamed fabric-thread; eleventh, and mechanism bywhich said needles are caused to rise so that the said newly-formedloops thereon shall be below the latches of the needles, as specified.

3. In a circular-frame knitting-machine, in combination, first,latch-needles; second,mechanism for throwing predetermined needles outofllne with the remaining needles; third,mechanism for placing a backingor plush thread between the needles so thrown out of line and needlesremaining in line and below t-helower ends of the open latches of saidneedles; fourth, mechanism for guiding a tying-in thread to saidneedles; filth, mechanism by which said needles are caused to descendbelow the plushthread and to again ascend, whereby such needles as havebeen thrown out of line are caused to rise on the opposite side of theplush-thread to-that on which they descended; sixth, mechanism forguiding a fabric-thread to the nee IOO IIC

dlcs above their'latches; seventh, mechanism to cause said needles todescend and pull said fabric-thread and tying in thread together throughloops previously formed upon them, 5 and, eighth, a guard or guardslocated in close proximity to the latch sides of said needles at pointsabove the lower ends of their latches, and at points in the line ofneedles at which the loops and threads of which the fabric is 10 formedare upon said needles below the latches,

as specified.

4. In a circular-frame knitting-machine, in combination, first, latchneedles; second, thread-guides R S T U; third, cams H and I,

I5 adapted to actuate said needles; fourth, presser wheel V, and,fifth,brushwheel WV,as specified.

5. In a circular-frame knitting-machine, in combination, first, latchneedles; second, thread-guides R, S, T, and U; third, cams H 20 and I,adapted to actuate said needles; fourth, resser-wheel V; fifth,brush-wheel IV, and, sixth, latch-guards X and Y, as specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name this 3d day of June,A. D. 1886.

JOSEPH ADAMS.

In presence of- WM. 0. STRAWBRIDGE, J. BONSALL TAYLOR.

